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ABSTRACT
Mental health initiatives are being implemented based on collegiate athletes being a high risk subculture for a variety of health behaviors that correlate directly to depression. This literature review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to investigate the association between depression and student athletes. An initial search of the research databases yielded 807 articles. After applying additional delimiting criteria, 30 articles were considered relevant for the critical review and 11 for the systematic review. Results showed that student athletes are actually less likely to be depressed when compared to their non-athlete peers due to protective factors including levels of self-esteem and confidence, social support, and connectedness. However, there were distinct differences among collegiate athletes in how depression manifests and factors that serve as barriers to treatment. It is important for coaches, parents, teachers, peers, and those working with athletes to be able to recognize factors that may influence depression among this population as well as barriers that may instigate the adoption of risky health behaviors and inhibit them from seeking help.
Keywords: athlete, college, student, depression, mental health, sports
INTRODUCTION
At the college level, students have convenient access to health and counseling services offered on campus; however, only 20% of students with mental health problems seek professional help (Michael, Huelsman, Gerard, Gilligan, & Gustafson, 2006). In addition, collegiate athletes tend to underutilize campus health services even more so than their nonathletic peers. According to the American Psychological Association (2014), depression is: "a lack of interest and pleasure in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, lack of energy, inability to concentrate, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide" (para. 1). The stigma of "being depressed" or "seeing a counselor" is often considered a "weakness" by the athletic subculture. Athletes are trained to be both physically and mentally tough; therefore, feelings of hopelessness, loneliness, and lack of self-worth are viewed as personal flaws, but in reality, are symptoms of depression which can effectively be treated. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, 2005) has recognized that the increased stress placed on student-athletes and their high risk behaviors are significantly associated with depression and therefore implemented a campaign on managing...